Cottage food rules
Oregon Cottage Food Laws: What Home Bakers Need to Know
A plain answer on what you can sell from your Oregon kitchen, and when you need a license.
What to remember
- Non-perishable homemade food can be sold without a license under the exemption.
- There is a gross sales cap you have to stay under.
- Breads, cookies, plain cakes, and candies often need no state license at all.
- Anything outside the exemption needs a domestic kitchen bakery or food processing license.
- The Oregon Department of Agriculture enforces the rules.
The short version is that Oregon wants small food producers to be able to sell, and the 2023 Legislature passed a law that creates new small-business opportunities for bakers, chefs, and local food producers. The exemption is built to expand opportunities and remove barriers for small-scale food establishments, and it gives rural communities access to locally produced food. If you are still deciding what to bake and sell, our guide to what your Oregon label must say walks through the label side of the same rules.
What the exemption covers
The exemption is for non-perishable food made in your home kitchen. That word non-perishable is doing a lot of work. It is why breads, cookies, cakes without cream fillings, and candies are the usual cottage food items, and why anything that needs refrigeration sits outside the exemption.
When you need a license instead
Anyone who wants to sell food made in their home kitchen that does not meet the Cottage Food Exemptions must obtain and meet the requirements for a domestic kitchen bakery or food processing license. That is the line. If your product or your sales volume does not fit the exemption, you are not out of options, you are just in a different category with more requirements.
It helps to sort your bakes before you print a single label. Plain loaves, drop cookies, and simple cakes are usually comfortable. Cream fillings and anything that needs to stay cold are the ones to check carefully. If you are comparing how other states handle this, our look at Ohio home bakery license regulations shows how a stricter state structures the same decision.
Keep your paperwork ready
Write down what you sell
List every item you plan to sell and note whether it is non-perishable.
Track your sales total
Keep a running record of gross sales so you always know your distance from the cap.
Label every package
Put your required label information on each item before it leaves your kitchen.
Check the current rules each year
Confirm the cap and requirements with the Oregon Department of Agriculture before your busy season.
Work out your pricing before you sell
Free, no signup.
Pricing matters more under a sales cap, because every dollar counts toward the same ceiling. Our guide on labeling rules for cottage food bakers pairs well with a clear costing habit, and if you sell at markets, keep your order records together so the two never drift apart.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell cookies from my home in Oregon?
Many home producers of foods like breads, cookies and cakes without cream fillings, and candies need no state license at all in Oregon, as long as they stay within the Cottage Food Exemption.
What is the gross sales cap?
The exemption applies as long as you stay under a gross sales cap. Confirm the current figure with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, since it is the number your whole year hangs on.
What if I want to sell something that is not covered?
Anyone who wants to sell food made in their home kitchen that does not meet the Cottage Food Exemptions must obtain and meet the requirements for a domestic kitchen bakery or food processing license.
Who enforces these rules?
The Oregon State Department of Agriculture enforces ORS 616.775 to 616.790 and 616.992, the statutes behind the exemption.
Did the rules change recently?
In 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed a law that creates new small-business opportunities for bakers, chefs, and local food producers.
Sources
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and sales caps change. Confirm the current requirements with the Oregon Department of Agriculture before you sell.